Tunneling apparatus



Patented Mar. 24, i925.

Unire-n `s'rarins ria ll y

Linares runnnnrne Application filed January 17, 18,22. Serial I'To.523,864.

lassee, near Berlin, Germany, have inventedcertain new and usefulImprovements in rIunneling Apparatus, of which the followmg is aspecii'ication. i

invention relates to vtunnel shields and more lespecially-to a shieldadaptedfor use in constructing tunnels under Water.,` t

According to the present invent-ion I provide the shield'W-ith a chamberor loclr open ing in front of and behind the shield, Where it can beclosed by suitable gates, and further With a. rotary dredging deviceadapted to be actuated from Within and which detachee the earth andcarriesv it into the lock wherein the earth is discharged through theshield into the tunnel. c

In the drawings aflined to this specilication and forming part thereof,a shield ein-` bodying my invention is illustrated diagrainmatically byWay of example. In the dravvingsf- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section andFig. 2 is a front View of my improved shield partly in cross section.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the shield proper and 2O is the cylindercarrying it, said cylinder being capable of revolving within the tubings25. A chamber or lock 2 is arranged in a central opening of the shield,the front end of the lock projecting into the. space 3 in front of theshield which is as a rule filled With Water, the front end of thechamber being surrounded by the annular boss d of the rotary dredger.

A plurality of arms 5 projecting radially from said boss have their endformed like buckets o-r cutting blades, and may be supported on thefront Wall 1 by any suitable means (not shown). Channels 6 are providedon the arms 5 which register with openings in the boss Ll. yThe earthwhich is loosened or cut away from the bank by the arms a is raised bythem and drops through the respective opening 'Z in the boss into anopening 8 at the top of the front portion of the lock chamber 2. Theopening 8 can be closed from'within the tunnel byi a slide 9 fixed to ahandle 21. vWith the lower portion of the inner end of the lock chamber2 a discharge tube 22 is con` nected, which is gradually filled with thevearth discharged from the loclr 2. When the lock 2 and the dischargetube 22 are corn- NFFICE.. t

ilertely filled with earth, the opening 8 is i or mintureof 4earth andWater, as the case `may be, are discharged by supplying air underpressureto thev loclr chamber 2 after having opened the discharge :gate22?' of tubel 22. The "Water may beV discharged alone in the space Iinfront -of the Wall 1 by opening a valve 1l at the 4'bottomof the tube 22and supplying air under pressuretofthe loci: chamber 2'vvhile thedischarge gate 22 is` still closed. Then vthe discharge `gate is openedand the earth' may be dischargedV into the space behind theWall 1.

. In those cases Where thevrotary dredger can perform its Work byrotating in `one direction only, a single channel 6 onl each dredgingarm 5 will sul'lice. yInthe modiication disclosed in the drawings, thearms 5 are shown as provided with a separate channel on either side sothat the dredger Will do its Work in either direction, the channelsWhich face the direction of rotation, being in operation, While theothers,

are'idle.

The dredging device 4, 5, 6 can be operated by various means. In theexample illustrated, the boss l carries a cap 12 With steel teeth 23secured to it and the cap yand the boss l are actuated together by ahorizontal shaft 24 extending axially through the lock chamber 2. Ahelical conveyer 13 or equivalent conveying means may be secured to` theshaft, as shown in dotted lines, which moves the earth in the lockchamber 2 toward its rear end. The earth can also be scraped rearwardsby meansof hoolrs y16. At the top of the rear end of the lock chamber 2,a man hole 14 may be provided. Rocks and other obstructions are removed,'While the dredger is at rest, by means of tools, jet pipes or the like,which may be temporarily inserted in the Wall 1 as indicated at 15. Theteeth 23 on the cap 12 form an excavation for the front end oftheadvancing lock 2.

,Where the Water can be removed from closed by mea-ns of the slide `9and the earth v construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications Will occur -to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A tunnel shield capable of operating under Water, comprising incombination a lock chamber extending thru the shield, means in front ofthe shield and adapted to be operated from behind the shield fordetaching earth and for conveying it into the projected portion of saidlock chamber and means operatable from Within the shield for closingsaid lock chamber against the out? Side for the purpose of removing theearth contained in the chamber to the interior of the shield.

2. A tunnel shield comprising in coinbiiia-l tion, a lock chamberextending through the shield, a shaft extending axially through saidlock chamber, a toothed cap on the front end of said shaft and a rotardredger 3. A tunnel shield comprising lin combina-` tion, a lock chamberextending through the shield, an annular boss encircling said chamber infront 0i Said shield, radial cutters on said boss, each cutter having atleast one channel for conveying the detached earth into said chamber,said boss lia-ving an opening at the inner end of each channeled cutter,said chamber having an opening in its upper portion adapted to registerwith said boss openings as they pass by during rotation, and meansadapted to be operated from Within the tunnel for closing said lockchamber opening, and means for removing the earth delivered into saidlock chamber.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

ADOLF HAAG.

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